COMMENT

and a former Scottish Labour leader, enjoyed a high profile and was well thought of locally. Yet even he could not survive the SNP tsunami in 2015 which swept numerous established MPS aside.

Kirsten Oswald claimed this most suburban of seats for the Nationalists with a majority of 3,718. The former head of human resources at South Lanarkshire council is seeking re-election but will face a determined campaign from both Labour and the Tories.

“People are concerned about Brexit and the impact of a government under Theresa May,” she told The Scotsman. “We have a lot of EU nationals living in the constituency and they are worried about the future.”

East Ren delivered a thumping No vote - 63 per cent - in 2014 but Ms Oswald insists the prospect of a second referendum is not turning voters away from the SNP.

The unionist vote in East Ren was split in 2015 - some 19,000 voting for Mr Murphy and 12,000 for the Tories - which helped Ms Oswald to a surprise victory.

And with neither party willing to stand aside to let one take on the SNP, there is a chance the same thing could happen again.

Residents in Giffnock are aware they may need to lend their vote to another party if they are to see their desired result.

Liz, a retired police officer waiting for a bus home after shopping in the town’s main street, admits her political affiliation has “chopped and changed” over the years. She has decided to vote Labour as she “doesn’t agree with a lot of what Mrs May says”.

“I don’t like Jeremy Corbyn,”

“The Conservatives have become the party of opposition to the SNP right across Scotland”

PAUL MASTERTON